Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 105
1 Come, offer thanks to the Eternal; invoke His holy name.
Tell other people about the things He has done.
2 Sing songs of praise to Him;
tell stories of all His miracles.
3 Revel in His holy name.
May the hearts of the people who seek the Eternal celebrate and experience great joy.
4 Seek the Eternal and His power;
look to His face constantly.
5 Remember the wonderful things He has done,
His miracles and the wise decisions He has made,
6 O children of Abraham, His servant;
O children of Jacob, His chosen people!
37 Then He brought His people out of slavery, weighed down with silver and gold;
and of all His tribes,
not one of them stumbled, not one was left behind.
38 Egypt was glad to see them go,
for Pharaoh’s people had been overcome with fear of them.
39 He spread out a cloud to cover His people
and sent a fire to light their way at night.
40 They asked, and He sent them coveys of quail,
satisfying their hunger with the food of heaven.
41 He split the rock and water poured out;
it flowed like a river through the desert.
42 For He remembered His holy covenant
with Abraham, His servant.
43 That’s why He rescued His people joyously
and why His chosen ones celebrated with shouts and singing.
44 When the time was right, He gave them land from other nations
so that they might possess the works of their hands,
45 So that they would be able to keep His commands
and obey His laws.
Praise the Eternal!
16 Then the entire community of Israel departed from Elim and entered the desert of Sin, which is located between Elim and Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from Egypt.
The covenant people leave the pleasant, coastal area around Elim to begin the long journey through the wilderness. It will take longer than anyone expects.
2 As soon as they got to the desert of Sin, the entire community of Israelites complained to Moses and Aaron.
Israelites: 3 It would have been better if we had died by the hand of the Eternal in Egypt. At least we had plenty to eat and drink, for our pots were stuffed with meat and we had as much bread as we wanted. But now you have brought the entire community out to the desert to starve us to death.
Eternal One (to Moses): 4 Look! I will cause bread to rain down from heaven for you,[a] and the people will go out and gather a helping of it each day. I will test them to see if they are willing to live by My instructions. 5 On the sixth day, they will gather the usual amount; but when they go to prepare it, it will end up being twice what they usually gather.
Moses and Aaron (to the Israelites): 6 When evening falls, you will know that the Eternal has led you out of the land of Egypt. 7 In the morning your eyes will see His glory because He takes your complaints against us as complaints against Him. Who are we, that you direct your complaints to us?
Moses (continuing): 8 This will take place when the Eternal One provides you with meat in the evening and plenty of bread in the morning because He hears all your grumbling and complaining against Him. Why do you complain to us? Your complaints are not against us, but against Him.
9 (to Aaron) Tell the entire community of Israelites, “Draw near to the Eternal. He has heard your complaints.”
10 While Aaron was speaking to the entire community of the Israelites, they all looked out toward the desert, and the radiant glory of the Eternal could be seen in the cloud. 11 The Eternal spoke to Moses.
Eternal One (to Moses): 12 Rest assured, I have heard the constant complaining of the Israelites. Tell them, “In the evening, you will have meat to eat; and in the morning, you will have enough bread to satisfy your gnawing hunger. Then you will know that I am the Eternal your God.”
13 That evening, quail flew in and covered the camp; and when morning arrived, what seemed to be ordinary dew was all around the camp.
14 But when the dew evaporated, it left behind a thin, mysterious, flaky substance that looked like frost on top of the dry desert ground. 15 The people of Israel went out to examine it. They had never seen anything quite like it.
Israelites (to one another): What is it?
The people didn’t have a clue what this strange substance was.
Moses: It is the bread which the Eternal has given you to eat. 16 Here are His instructions: “Gather only as much of it as you should eat by yourself. Pick up two quarts[b] of bread for each person who lives in your tent.”
17 The Israelites did as they were told. Some people gathered a lot, others gathered less. 18 When they used a two-quart jar to measure it, the one who had gathered a lot didn’t have more than he needed; and the one who gathered less had just what he needed.[c] Miraculously, each person and each family—regardless of how much they gathered—had exactly what they needed.
Moses (continuing God’s instructions): 19 Don’t try to keep any of it until the morning. Either eat it all, or throw it away.
20 But some people ignored Moses and tried to keep some of it until the next morning. Overnight it became wormy and started to have a dreadful smell. Moses became furious with them because they had disobeyed God’s instructions.
21 Every morning the people went out and gathered it—each family took only what it needed. By the time the sun became hot, it had melted away.
Weakness looks like failure in the eyes of the world, but for Paul weakness is an avenue to share in Jesus’ death and, therefore, in His life as well. The challenge is to remain faithful even in the difficult times, even when there is no one left to provide support. It is in these times that God’s power and comfort are most evident. This call to embrace weakness and suffering is difficult. It is normal to run from pain. But the examples of Jesus in the Gospels, of Paul in his letters, and of David in the psalms are of finding God’s strength in times of weakness.
5 Examine yourselves. Check your faith! Are you really in the faith? Do you still not know that Jesus the Anointed is in you?—unless, of course, you have failed the test. 6 Surely you will realize we have not failed the test, 7 but we pray to God that you will stay away from evil. What’s important is not whether we appear to have passed the test, but that you do what is right and act honorably, even if it appears that we have failed. 8 For there’s nothing we can do to oppose the truth; all we can do is align ourselves with it. 9 You see, we celebrate when we are weak but you are strong. Our prayer is simple: that you may be whole and complete. 10 How I hope I am saving you by writing this to you in advance; this letter will spare me from using the Lord’s authority to come down on you when I arrive. His intention in giving me this authority is to build you up, not tear you down.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.